Come In From The Rain
by Stardreamed
Summary: Hera and Jacen have an unexpected wolf-shaped visitor.


The sky was dark, and the air was hot and humid. The clouds had gathered, and I had seen heat lightning earlier in the evening. Jacen was already asleep in his bed for hours, Chopper was on the Ghost performing some routine maintenance, and Sabine was out for the night to Capital City with Ketsu Onyo.

We had come to Lothal for Jacen to go to school. I had thought it was about time to try settling down for a bit, for Jacen's sake. So, we were crashing at Aunty Sabine's for the time being. Though, the Ghost would always truly be our home.

I'd been reading when the storm began. It was one of Sabine's well-loved romance novels that when she was sixteen she probably would have been embarrassed if she knew I'd found it. I'd been missing Kanan particularly hard that night and over the span of a few hours, had more than a glass of meiloorun wine. Jacen had woken up after a loud clap of thunder and begun to cry, but then had settled, so I continued reading, then poured one last glass of wine.

After I finished the next chapter, I decided to check in on my son. As I opened the door to his room, I saw that he was at the window, standing on a chair, to lean out over the windowsill. And… He was chatting enthusiastically with… a white loth-wolf.

"Jacen, sweetie, I need you to step away from the window."

"But, Mom, this is DUME… He'd never hurt me. He loves me." To prove his point, he reached to stroke the wolf's ear and the wolf nuzzled into the touch. "I was afraid of the storm and he came to be with me."

When Jacen said the wolf was Dume, a sadness had struck me, like a knife through the gut. But, also, I felt hope. A terrible, dizzying hope that maybe Kanan was working through the wolf. Yeah, I missed him so much, I found hope in a Loth-wolf that we could be reunited somehow, someway. But, I knew better.

I approached the window and stood next to my son, looking straight into the wolf's eyes. "You harm one hair on my son's head and I will end you. Just so you know."

The wolf nodded, gravely. I reached out my hand for Dume to sniff, then pet his head. His fur was much softer than I expected.

The wind and the rain from the storm began to pick up. While he didn't make a move to leave, I was afraid he might before I could figure out just how much of Kanan was in him. "Would you like to come in out of the rain?" I offered.

The loth-wolf nodded, and I met him at the door with a stack of towels and Jacen in tow. As he entered, I noticed he was about as wide and tall as the door and completely drenched. "Don't shake, Dume… I swear…" And he looked at me as if, what, did I take him for an idiot? "Just checking, Mr. Dume…. I'll dry you off."

I patted Dume down, while Jacen helped. He had brought along Auntie Sabine's hair brush… I didn't stop him from using it, figuring we could just buy her a new one. The wolf was so huge, I began to question the wisdom of having him enter the house and if he could maneuver, but he was well-behaved and cautious. When he was clean and dry, I let Jacen lead Dume to his room, where my son showed him his favorite toys and treasures. Then, he showed off his budding force abilities, levitating his favorite stuffed tooka in the air, while Dume looked on with pride.

It seemed as if he and my son were having a conversation that I couldn't hear Dume's end of. Though, I never had the impression that he intended to leave me out. If anything, it looked to me that the thought of it made him sad, the way he would turn and look my way.

After a few hours, I could see my son fading. He was lying on the floor, snuggled into Dume, favorite stuffed tooka in hand. I pulled the quilt from his bed and laid it over him and Dume and grabbed a pillow for me to join them.

The whole evening had a surreal feeling to it. If you'd asked me just the day before if I would ever invite a giant Loth-wolf into our home, I'd have laughed and said no. And, then, there I was, curling up to sleep next to one on the floor in my son's room.

Sometime later, after the storm had passed, I awoke when the loth-wolf moved and made a short whining noise as if in pain. When I turned to look, I saw… A very familiar naked man in the dim morning light. As he opened his eyes, I forgot to breathe.

It was Kanan, but without his scars or that awful haircut he had given himself the day he died. His hair and beard were neat and trim, like the way he'd kept them in the years before Malachor.

I leaned down to cup his face, to assure myself that he was real. As I did, he smiled, and I stroked his beard with the pad of my thumb.

"How is this possible, Luv?"

The man before me sat up and ran a hand through the loose strands of his hair in an achingly familiar gesture and took another moment to stare at me.

"I feel like I know you." He leaned closer, wrapping the quilt tighter around himself. "And… I love you. Who are you?"

"Hera."

"Hera." He says, appearing to savior the taste of my name on his lips. "I'm Dume." He offered.

Jacen fidgeted in his sleep and snuggled closer to Dume, wrapping his arm over Dume's quilt-covered lap. Dume turned to look down at the sleeping boy and ran his hand through Jacen's cowlicked hair, then lightly traced a green-tinged ear. "I love him, too. Jacen." He said his name with strong affection and looked at him as if marveling at the boy's very existence before looking up again at me. "I'd like to be with you… If that's okay."

I nodded, smiling as tears ran down my face. Dume reached over to catch a tear with his finger and wipe it away in another Kanan-like gesture.

"Do you remember anything from before you were a loth-wolf?"

Dume shook his head but looked as if he didn't quite understand the question.

"I feel like I've missed you." He looked down at his hands as if inspecting them for a moment. "For years, I had this longing, this terrible ache sometimes, but I didn't know what I was missing, until I heard your voice."

"I've missed you, too." I said… The greatest understatement of the year.

And with that, Jacen stirred and opened his eyes to looked up at Dume. "Are you…?"

"Dume."

"You look like my Dad, now." He sat up and went to the nightstand to retrieve the holo-portrait and brought it to Dume. "See?" He said, as he switched it on. It was a holo of Kanan and I, while we were staying at a resort, undercover, during the early days of our relationship. I was wearing a bathing suit with matching head wrap, and Kanan was in swim trunks.

"Is that what I look like?"

Jacen nodded. "I never met my Dad. He died, saving Mom, me, and Auntie Sabine."

Dume reached up to touch his face, as if trying to compare what he felt with his hands to the man in the holo-portrait.

"You don't know what you look like?"

"No. I was a loth-wolf until a little while ago."

"I'll get you Aunty Sabine's mirror." Jacen stood up and ran to the bedroom door. "You're naked, aren't you?"

Dume nodded and pulled the comforter up higher on his torso.

"Mom, why can't I be naked?"

I shook my head. "Dume will be putting on clothes soon. Keep your P.J.'s on."

"Did you know my middle name is Dume?" He smiles, turning towards Dume with his hand on the door knob. "I'm Jacen Dume Syndulla." And with that, he opened the door and ran out of the room.

Dume turned to me, looking perplexed, but pleased. "Why is his middle-name Dume?"

"Because the name his father was born with was Caleb Dume."

"Caleb?" He smiles. "Caleb means 'dog' in the old tongue."

I smiled. "I didn't know that. It's definitely appropriate."

"Why?"

I wanted to gesture towards him but restrained myself. I wasn't ready to bring up that he'd just been a wolf, or Ahsoka's theory or the cave paintings or even the loth-wolves' behavior towards Kanan. So, I shrug instead.

Fortunately, at that moment, the door opens, and Jacen has returned with the mirror, which he hands to Dume.

"Sweetie… Can you go get my communicator? I need to call Auntie Sabine about getting some clothes for Mr. Dume, here."

"Sure." And Jacen bolts out of the room.

I watched Dume examine his features in the mirror, then switch on the holo-portrait of Kanan and I for a moment, then switch it off, looking again back into the mirror. He wasn't happy with what he discovered.

"Jacen wasn't exaggerating. I do look exactly like his Dad."

Not knowing what to say, I just watch him. I want to tell him that it's okay, that I believe he came by that face honestly, but I'm afraid to tip my hand. He might think I expect him to be Kanan. Which, isn't far from the truth and probably not what he wants to hear.

"Hera," He pauses for a moment, to take my hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take the form of your lost love. I just wanted my body to be compatible with yours."

He began stroking the top of my fingers at the joint with his thumb in a circular motion and my breath caught in my throat.

"I can leave. I'll go back to the wilds and you won't have to see me. I don't want to hurt you." It was obvious the idea of it pained him, but he said it with a determination as if he believed it may be what's best for me. He let go of my hand and moved to begin to stand. As he did, I grabbed him by the bicep and pulled him towards me.

"Please… Don't go."

"Hera, I can see what this is doing to you. I can feel your feelings in the force. Not... Not that I'm trying – your feelings are just very strong."

"I'd like to see where this goes. Please… Please stay."

"I don't want to take advantage."

"You won't be. I know you're Dume. We can go slow and get to know each other better."

"Well…"

Just then, the door opens and Jacen hands me the communicator.

"And, my son really likes you. Right, Jace?"

With that, my son climbs into Dume's lap and gives him a hug. "Please stay, Mr. Dume?"

Dume grins and returns the embrace. "Alright... For now." He then looked to me and said, "That was dirty."

I laughed.

"I think we'll be ok."

I switch on communicator and call Specter 5. "Spectre 2 to Spectre 5. Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Spectre 2. I'm on my way home, now."

"Would you mind stopping by the Ghost and grabbing the black duffle bag I have stored in the cabinet under my bunk? Oh, and bring Spectre 3 if he's done with the repairs."

"Sure."

"Thanks, Spectre 5. Oh, and so you're not surprised, you have another guest. You can meet him when you get here. Spectre 2 out."

As I ended the communication, I noticed Dume looked lost in thought, eyes distant.

"Everything ok?"

He shook his head, as if to clear it. "It's nothing." He smiled. "Just a bit of déjà vu." Jacen turned to look up at him in concern and Dume gave him a quick squeeze. "Something about that just seemed… familiar, somehow."

Some time later, Sabine arrived with the black duffle bag and I met her in the hallway. She knew it's contents and looked at me with concern.

"They're for your new guest. We don't have anything else that should fit him."

"Are you sure you'll be okay with someone else wearing those?"

I nodded. "It's okay, Sabine. I promise." Sabine looked at me searchingly, then reluctantly handed me the duffle bag. "Just, try not to freak-out."

She knit her eyebrows at that, but said, "I'll go make some breakfast."

As she headed towards the kitchen, I re-entered the bedroom and handed the bag to Dume.

"These clothes should fit you."

He pulled a green long-sleeved shirt from the bag and held it up. "These were his."

I nodded. He turned his attention back towards the shirt and sniffed it. He then proceeded to sniff himself, looking puzzled, but put it on.

I suggested to Jacen that he go help set the table to give us some privacy. When we were alone again, Dume finished changing.

When he was done tying back his hair, he leaned back and crossed his arms, sulking, but my heart soared. All he needed was the shoulder pauldron and pistol holster and it would be as if Malachor never happened.

"If it's really making you that uncomfortable, Luv, after breakfast, we can go buy you some new clothes."

"You like this look on me."

I shrugged, not wanting to open that can of worms.

"Sabine may have a momentary freak-out, but she'll get over it."

Dume looked uneasy but reached for my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, before rising from his seat on the bed. He looked like he had wanted to do something more but stopped. I tugged him towards the door and led him to the kitchen.

As we entered, Sabine was giving her full attention to the stove. Dume stopped at the entryway, watching as she cracked an egg and dropped the yolk into the skillet.

"You changed your hair again."

She looked up from the stove, eyes wide.

"I don't know why I said that," he said, seeming sheepish. "I'm just meeting you now." He took a step forward. "I'm Dume."

"Remember to breathe, Sabine," I said, watching her with concern.

"Where have you been?"

"I was a loth-wolf until sometime early this morning."

Sabine nodded and turned back to the skillet to stir the eggs.

"It's going to take me a moment to process this, I think."

He took an uncertain step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Sabine dropped the spatula and turned to give Dume a tight hug, burring her face in his chest. "I missed you." Dume looked surprised, but returned the embrace, allowing her to cry a few tears into his borrowed shirt. He seemed at a loss for what to say as she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

As the kitchen timer, went off, I pulled the pan with the nerf bacon out of the oven, and put the bacon on a serving plate as Dume looked on.

"I feel like I should be helping."

"Do you remember how to cook?"

He scratched his head. "No?"

I began making up a plate for him, and another one for Jace, which he brought to the table.

Dume studied the food on his plate before picking up his fork and pushing his scrambled eggs and nerf bacon around.

"Not a fan?"

"I'm sure it's fine. It's just that I don't think I remember ever eating anything that I hadn't killed first with my own teeth."

After breakfast, Dume and I went out to the patio.

"I know I don't have the force, but I feel a connection with you, Dume. I know you don't share in Kanan's memories, but I think you should know… When he was alive, the loth-wolves addressed him as 'Dume'."

"They did?"

"Yes."

Dume took my hand again. "Hera. I need to go talk to them. I promise you, no matter what, I will come back."

I nodded, and he leaned forward, as if he wanted to kiss me, then he stepped away, as he had thought better of it.

I watched as he closed his eyes, concentrating, and then… There stood Dume, the loth-wolf, before me, and he turned to look my way before running out into the grasslands.

I sat there on the back stoop for a few hours, waiting for him to return.

While I waited, Jacen came to keep me company, and Sabine tried to persuade me to come inside, but I would have none of it. I was determined to wait for Dume. When 2 o'clock came, I asked Sabine to put Jacen down for his nap. Twenty minutes later, I saw a white loth-wolf on the horizon, running my way.

I stood up from the stoop and began to run towards him. We met in the tall grasses behind the house. When he came to a stop before me, the white loth-wolf took in a deep inhale of my scent, and I reached up to stroke his muzzle, before he stepped away and shut his eyes, transforming into Dume, the human.

He was smiling, seemingly ecstatic, and he stepped forward again and cupped my face with his hands. As we stared into each other's eyes, he leaned forward, closed his eyes, and he kissed me like a drowning man, which I eagerly returned with a hungry passion.

After a time, he paused to take a quick breath and I asked, "What happened to taking it slow?"

He grinned. "I found out I'm not taking advantage and... I've missed you for far, far too long."

"Me, too." I said, feeling a wide grin split my face. I felt a bit woozy, where I stood, and I could feel my lekku were tender. I took his hand in mine and asked, "Want to give Jace a sibling?"

"Oh, force yes," he said, grinning wolfishly at me. And, with that, hand in hand, I led him towards our soon to be shared bedroom.

"Welcome home, my love."


End file.
